More Than 2,300 Birds Found Dead On Chile's Coast

Saturday, May 12, 2012 - 10:35am by News Desk 2

Chilean officials report that more than 2,300 birds have been found dead so far along its coastline. Officials say the bird were found with broken wings and bruising and say they believe this is a result of the birds becoming entangled with fishing nets.

The Pacific Ocean off the coast of South American has been especially warm as a result of El Nino causing sardines and other surface fish to stay south. This in turn has resulted in birds that normally migrate to stay during the busy fishing season.

Earlier this week, Peruvian authorities say warm waters off that country's coast are to blame for the deaths of more than 5,000 marine birds.

The Peruvian National Center for the Study of El Nino said that since February, the Peruvian coast has had an abundance of warm water as a result of marine currents throughout the world's oceans. The warm water has altered the marine ecosystem, it said.